Reports of billions of dollars in economic damage and incalculable human suffering are
staggering and the prognosis is the worst is yet to come.

Over the past year in Aotearoa, we have witnessed unprecedented and record breaking rises in
temperature, extreme floods, wildfires, devastating coastal inundation and sea level rise.

We each now have personal stories of how the lives of our whānau, friends and communities
have already been profoundly affected by the changes happening around us.

To mitigate the worst effects Aotearoa needs a whole of society response to the climate crisis.

The objective of this summit is too bring together a cross section of Māori leaders and climate
scientists and experts to share information, analysis and strategies for action.

Māori Leaders Climate Summit
At Waitangi in February 2018, the Iwi Chairs Forum agreed to convene the first Māori Leaders’
Climate Change Summit ( the Summit ) to be held in Wellington on 24-25 March 2018.

With a strong line-up of expert presenters and interactive workshops, the Summit will update
Māori leaders on the imperiled state of our climate.

More importantly, we will begin outcome-oriented engagement for how whānau, hapū, kāinga
iwi and Maori industries can take action now to mitigate the worst effects of abrupt climate
change.

Our focus will be on the design of climate crisis ‘audits’ to help communities understand and
initiate assessment for threats and opportunities to their specific environmental, future
development and socio-economic situations.

This hui will be the first of a series of ongoing hui at a national and regional level.

The inaugural Summit will be a critical event for all Māori leaders, of whānau, hapū and iwi who
care about the wellbeing of their people now and their near to long-term survival.